Unspeakable
by MarauderBlood
Summary: Astoria Greengrass has always kept a low profile - but when she gets a job as an Unspeakable and begins falling for Draco Malfoy, her life becomes more exciting and passionate than she could have ever imagined.
1. Errands Bitch

The almost-autumn breeze was gentle, yet cold. It was the first indication that summer had come to a close and more frigid weather was approaching. The dark hair that had been tied up into an elegant bun was coming to pieces slowly. Astoria could feel the hair descending onto her shoulders, but there wasn't much that she could do about it. Her heels clicked against the cobblestone as she made her way through Diagon Alley. She didn't have much to do that day, although she regretted her decision to go that day. It was Astoria's first time in Hogsmeade outside of getting school supplies.

She had just graduated the summer previous, and hadn't realized that going at the end of August would mean that there would be students everywhere. She didn't want to seem angry about it - it was merely that she didn't want to run into those that she knew. Astoria had kept a relatively low profile within Hogwarts. She had graduated and instantly went to the Ministry. She had begun training at the Ministry in hopes of potentially getting in with the Department of Magical Games and Sports. She couldn't clearly remember the timeframe of events, but next thing she knew she was being whisked away from the other interns and doing more... advanced things. She was a rather quiet individual. She didn't quickly make friends at the Ministry, and she didn't really have friends outside either. She had no idea what they wanted from her. Most of the time she ran errands around the Ministry. She had overhead many of her fellow interns gossiping about her and saying that she dropped out of being an intern to be an "errands bitch." Astoria ignored the comment. She wasn't easily angered. She didn't question what she was doing, even if it seemed pointless or tedious. Her duties ranged from getting coffee for Mr. Heimworth in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes to delivering unmarked packages from unnamed persons to seemingly random individuals. She didn't question it. She was being paid, and that was all that mattered, right?

It had been months before Astoria got any clue to what was going on. She watched as the interns she came in with got more permanent start-up jobs. Sure, the jobs they were getting weren't fancy by any means, but they had jobs. After the last intern either left the Ministry to pursue other things or got a job within the Ministry, Astoria was still doing errands. She wondered perhaps if they found her too boring to keep as an intern, or if her quiet demeanor was perfect for what she was doing. For all she had known, this was going to become a permanent position for her. As much as she was glad to be employed, and as much as she loved the fact that she seemed to continuously be getting raises and bonuses, she wanted an actual title... something that wasn't "errands bitch."

Astoria had no idea that the title she would get would be "Unspeakable."

She had known something was different when they had asked her to come in during the middle of the night. It was now late February and extremely cold - very cold for London's standards. At midnight, she entered the Ministry of Magic, completely bundled up. She had found it odd how empty the place was. She had walked through the Ministry, being hyperaware of the fact that she could even hear herself breathing. Astoria had been told to report to Kenneth Lerwick's office. She had no idea who the man was. She had never run errands for him, and she had never spoken to him. She had looked down at her hand where she had etched his office number on it. Admittedly, she initially was lost. When she finally found his office, the door was ajar. She lightly knocked on the door whilst entering. The man was sitting behind his desk as if it were the middle of a busy work day. He was an older gentleman with wispy white hair and deep wrinkles along his face. When he looked up at her, Astoria was caught off-guard by how deeply black the man's eyes were. It was extremely contrasting compared with his white hair and almost matching white skin. With long, knobbly fingers, Kenneth grabbed a pair of glasses and put them on. With such dark, thick frames, it almost hid his strange eyes. The way he was dressed was a bit abnormal as well; instead of robes he opted for a pin-striped suit instead. Regardless, Astoria made no comment. She merely stood in the doorway, suddenly feeling quite colourful in her pink blouse.

"Astoria Greengrass?" Mr. Lerwick asked. When she nodded, he motioned towards the black leather seat opposite him. "Have a seat."

Astoria did as she was told. She clasped her ivory hands in her lap and merely looked at him. To be honest, his appearance had stolen her words. Nothing she thought to say seemed like it would work for him. Mr. Lerwick met Astoria's eyes and just gazed at her for a few moments. She couldn't help but wonder how old he must be. He looked like he had forever in his eyes.

"Ms. Greengrass, do you have any idea whatsoever why you are here?" he questioned. As he awaited her answer, he pulled out a navy folder from his already-open desk drawer, put it on his desk and opened it. Even from a distance, Astoria could see that her unsmiling photo was clipped inside. Astoria shook her head, but then realized that Mr. Lerwick was looking down and reading from the file.

"No, sir," she replied. It then became clear to Astoria that she hadn't spoken for possibly days. Her job didn't require her to say much, nor did she go out of her way to make conversation. She had no pets at home, and she couldn't even remember the last time she spoke to any family members. Her voice almost seemed foreign to her.

"My dear, how would you like to become an Unspeakable?"


	2. Draco Malfoy

Astoria grasped the handle of Gringott's and entered. As fond as her memory was of becoming an Unspeakable, she had a hard time putting the bits and pieces together. She couldn't remember exactly what Mr. Lerwick had said to her, nor could she properly remember her own reaction. She did remember that she had thought it was a joke; a well put-together joke from her old intern peers. For some reason, though, Mr. Lerwick's appearance told her otherwise. Did she want to become an Unspeakable? To be honest, the stigma of working in such a field initially put Astoria off. She didn't want that kind of attention. She didn't realize that she wasn't going to get that kind of attention - at first, at least.

It had been a couple of weeks before Astoria got recognized for being an Unspeakable. She had gone into work like she usually did and went into the lift to go to the Ninth Level. Mary Levesque, one of the interns who enjoyed calling Astoria an "errand bitch" happened to be on it, as well. As far as Astoria was aware, Mary was now working with the Improper Use of Magic squad. Astoria couldn't see it: Mary was rather stuck up and prudish. The squad up there seemed lighthearted with a good sense of humour. Then again, Mary could have just put herself in wherever she could.

"Did you just come in from fetching supplies to restock the tea area?" Mary snidely commented.

"Does it look like I have a box in my hands?" Astoria responded. She had mentally scolded herself. She hadn't wanted to respond. She had wanted to stay silent. Then again, she had almost accidentally broken a prophecy the night before and had gotten scolded by her trainer for it, so she wasn't in the best of moods.

"Where are you headed then?" Mary demanded. Her extremely curly hair seemed messier than usual, and Astoria couldn't help but wonder whether Mary's new job was stressing her out just a little bit.

The cool, female voice in the elevator stated that they were on the ninth level. When Astoria went to exit, Mary's face was obviously confused. Astoria pulled out her badge and flashed it at Mary immaturely before turning and walking down the dark corridor. The smartest thing to do? No, not at all. She didn't really realize that she most likely angered Mary, and the rumour mill would start. All because Astoria was just having a bad day.

Regardless of her memories, Astoria couldn't help but grin as the door to her vault opened. Inside was more money than she dreamed of making. No one ever told her how well being an Unspeakable paid. It was amazing to her that at the age of nineteen she could be completely independent of her rich family and be living _well_. As Astoria began placing her money into a bag, she realized she didn't care about rumours. She had more money than Mary, and had more money probably than most people her age. It was the price to be paid for keeping one's mouth shut, and as of yet she was doing a fantastic job. Who was she to tell the wonders of the Hall of Prophecy?

She hadn't been asked where she had wanted to work. It just sort of came about that she ended up working in the Hall of Prophecy. At first she thought it was dull work. They had her start by dusting the place and making sure she didn't break a thing. Due to her boredom, her mind drifted and she neglected to pay attention to which prophecy belonged to who. Most of them belonged to people who were now dead. The only thing Astoria did seem to notice was the fact that Harry Potter's plaque remained on the shelf, despite the fact that his had been destroyed and the entire thing was over. She supposed it was for sentimental value. Astoria had been told by Mr. Lerwick that in the final battle, many prophecies had been destroyed. Due to the amount of dust that hung about, she had a hard time imagining that the place once lay in almost complete ruin.

Astoria left Gringott's, rather in a hurry to escape the place where students and their families flooded in endlessly. The moment she walked out of Gringott's, though, and she was placing her bag of money into her purse, Astoria ran into some very small (probably first year Hogwarts student) child. She tried to regain her balance, but her heels got caught on each other and she went crashing down the steps out front. She couldn't help but feel extremely embarrassed. Her knee-length skirt was now barely covering what it needed to cover and her nude nylons had holes in them. She wasn't sure what hurt more: her pride, or her actual body. She saw a pale, white hand get extended towards her from some stranger, but she waved it away impatiently. When embarrassed, Astoria had the habit of being a little rude.

When she stood up and slowly dusted herself off, she glared at people who were staring at her. They all continued along. Astoria was rather surprised about how many parents were staring at her - most of the children's attention spans were already gone and they were walking away. Looking in front of her, though, she noticed the person who offered her a hand still standing there. She recognized him immediately - it was hard to not notice a Malfoy. She doubted very much he knew who she was considering she was two years younger. She wasn't sure what to say - it wasn't like he had the best reputation around. She decided on giving him an awkward smile and skirt around him while saying, "Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine."

As she went to walk away, however, she felt a firm grip on her upper arm. She turned around very quickly, but Draco had already dropped his hand. He hadn't been restraining her; it was clear that he just wanted her attention.

"Daphne, you don't recognize me?" he asked. He paused as he looked her up and down. "You look different."

The tone was extremely neutral, and Astoria didn't know what to make of it.

"Well, I would look different considering Daphne is my sister," she replied, irritably. Yes, she looked like her sister. She didn't think so much so that she could get mistaken for her. To begin with, the major difference between the two girls was Astoria's green eyes and Daphne's brown. Was that not a big enough giveaway? "Were you not in school with her for 7 years? Shouldn't you know the difference?"

Draco seemed a little ashamed for some reason.

"Yeah, I suppose you don't look like her. Apologies," he retorted.

From the stories Astoria had heard from others, especially when she was in Hogwarts at the same time as him, Draco wasn't much for apologies. Then again, the one he had given her wasn't the greatest, either. He had begun to walk away from her, and although Astoria was the one who was bumped and bruised, she called out his name anyways for him to return. He seemed rather reluctant.

"I'm Astoria," she introduced. She did not offer a hand. She was not really one for handshaking. She didn't know if he remembered her whatsoever from Hogwarts, but didn't want to make the conversation even more awkward by making him guess her name due to not remembering. "Do you want to get a drink?"

"I have a girlfriend," he stated, almost sternly. He looked at the watch on his wrist. Astoria was rather put off by his attitude. Did she say it was some sort of date? She didn't remember so. Regardless, Draco looked back at her and said, "I do have some time to kill, though."

"Lovely," Astoria replied, not entirely sure if she wanted him to agree to going.

The two headed off to the Leaky Cauldron together, mostly in silence as they tried to navigate their way around the hordes of students. They made vague small talk until they reached the dingy pub. When they managed to get there, Astoria was rather surprised. The place was still a little dark, but certainly had been cleaned up since the last time they were there. Draco himself looked rather put off still.

"It's not my first choice either," Astoria reassured him. "Do you have any other suggestions?"

"No... this is... _fine_," he answered, although his nostrils flared. Astoria took a seat and Draco went to the bar where a blonde woman was standing. She had an extremely friendly face - she was definitely not the same landlady that Astoria had known before. Draco returned and handed Astoria a Firewhiskey as he drank deeply from his own.

"Do you know who that is?" Astoria asked, nodding her head at the blonde woman. She seemed awfully young.

"This is the first time I've met you, and you're already jealous of someone else?" Draco replied, his grey eyes unimpressed. "Doesn't matter anyways, I suppose. That's Hannah Longbottom. As if the oaf ever got married," he continued, in obvious reference to Neville Longbottom.

"I wasn't jealous," Astoria asserted. Her cheeks grew red with anger. "You know what? This was probably a terrible idea. I just thought..." She stood up and grabbed her jacket while she looked down at Draco, who didn't look amused in the least. "I don't know, you just looked like you needed something to do."

"You were hoping it would be you?" Draco continued.

Astoria growled with anger, grabbed her bag and made her way out of the pub. She now knew that the rumours were true - Draco really was insufferable, even for a previous Slytherin! She left, not even caring that her Firewhiskey had gone untouched.


	3. Low Class

Muggle London had _not_ been Astoria's first choice when it came to where she wanted to live. However, it was the closest place to the Ministry that she could manage without actually living within the Ministry, and to be fair, it was completely affordable. For her, at least. She knew many witches and wizards who lived extremely far from the Ministry and had to Apparate in order to get to work due to not being able to afford to live closer. The more Astoria worked in the Department of Mysteries, the more she became aware that silence was golden - literally.

The place she had chosen was lavish, in her mind. She cheated a little bit when it came to living in "Muggle London." The building was somewhat hidden. She knew many magical communities that did the same sort of thing, and she was glad hers was that way as well. It meant that all her neighbours were wizarding, and it definitely meant that all their units were soundproof much beyond a Muggle standard. On the outside, the building seemed like a store with some normal units above it. The woman who owned the store, bless her, had no idea that wizards were entering and exiting her store all the time. There was a hidden hallway that ran along the left-hand side of her shop that had anti-Muggle spells upon it. In fact, there was a separate door on the street that the tenants could go through.

Her flat itself was extremely nice. It was styled more like a bachelor unit, with no bedrooms. Instead, there was an area that was raised that her bed was on. She lived alone, had no friends or significant other, so what difference did it make if her bedroom was in plain view? She thought that it looked elegant. It was never like her bed was left unmade or anything of the sort. The floors were a dark hardwood, and there wasn't a single scratch to be found upon them. Her furniture was a little clinical looking, as she had gotten an interior designer to put it together. The one wall of her unit appeared to be a wall simply of windows. It had the same affect that the Ministry of Magic had on most of their windows: it was a false view. She could choose what she saw, but she always made it look like she was looking out at a busy city at night time, even if was the middle of the day.

Astoria's encounter with Draco Malfoy had been struck from her mind rather quickly, as the next day she headed to work, only to be bombarded by Mary when Astoria had decided to take a break and grab a coffee. While she stirred her beverage, she heard the familiar click-and-drag noise that Mary created when she walked anywhere. The woman always insisted on heels that were much too high for her, and she had never learned to walk properly in them. Astoria turned around with a bemused look on her face as she sipped her coffee. Her eyebrows were raised, but she didn't say a word. She wasn't about to make conversation if someone she didn't like wasn't going to initiate it.

The first thing Astoria noticed was Mary's wild hair in a bun. Her blouse was unbuttoned, showing a massive amount of cleavage. Her skirt was too short for any workplace. As much as Astoria wasn't planning on initiating conversation, the snort that escaped her was completely involuntary, and did not go unnoticed.

"What?" Mary demanded. She stopped in her tracks, folding her arms over her chest, which caused her cleavage to pop up even more.

"It's just..." Astoria didn't know how to finish her sentence. She could practically feel Mary's blood boiling. Perhaps it was because Astoria spent too much time alone, but she was actually enjoying the situation. "I didn't know that they allowed people to dress like that in a professional workplace."

Mary looked down at herself quickly. Her eyes then flew back to Astoria and responded with, "And what's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"You look like a low-class prostitute," Astoria responded before she could control herself.

"_Why you_..." Mary began as she whipped out her wand. In all fairness, Astoria had no idea where Mary had retrieved her wand. There didn't look like there was room on her body at all for it. Astoria continued to drink her coffee, almost daring Mary to curse her. "How dare you say that? What I wear is none of your business! Why don't you go back to your basement and continue to do whatever it is you do that doesn't affect anyone but yourselves down there?"

"It might not affect you personally what we're doing down there, but it does help important people," Astoria replied, smoothly. She didn't know why she was getting such a thrill out of the situation. Could she be hurt? Sure, but if she was, Mary would no doubt lose her job in the very least.

Mary raised her wand, but just as she did, a third voice rang out within the room.

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

Mary's wand went flying from her hand, and when Mary moved, Astoria was able to see Hermione Granger standing there. Although older than Astoria, all Astoria could see when she looked at Hermione was the girl in Hogwarts with the poofy hair and big teeth. Although she no longer had large front teeth, and the fact that Hermione clearly now put the effort into styling her hair for work, Astoria still envisioned Hermione as being thirteen years old. She doubted that Hermione even knew who she was.

"What _is_ going on here?" Hermione demanded. Her disarming had gone flawlessly, and she had been able to catch Mary's wand. The look in her eyes at Mary's outfit clearly showed that she, too, disapproved of Mary's outfit, but she kept her lips tightly together as if she feared that she would make a comment.

"Greengrass was saying that I look like a hooker," Mary replied, although her tone was much lower now. It was almost like she was embarrassed that she had raised her wand for such a situation.

"Well, what you're wearing is..." Hermione paused, clearly searching for words. "Is rather inappropriate. _You,_" she turned her attention to Astoria. She glanced at Astoria's badge on her chest. "Shouldn't have said anything. If you were offended by what she wore, you should have laid an anonymous complaint. You may be an Unspeakable, but you're not Mary's superior." Astoria almost saw a glint in Hermione's eye as she finished with, "I am."

Astoria nearly snorted again, but managed to contain it this time. "May I go back to work?"

Although Hermione had nothing to do with Astoria, she felt it best to ask rather than to just leave the situation that was full of tension. Hermione merely nodded, but she did not seem finished with Mary. Astoria walked around them and left the room, not heading to where she worked but rather to front desk to lay a complaint, like she had been somewhat told. Astoria had been wrong about Mary... apparently she worked within the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. She supposed that Mary was wearing that outfit in order to try to seduce some half-breed.

By the end of her shift, Astoria still found the entire situation amusing, but she was so tired that even replaying it in her mind was difficult. She got paid a lot, but that also meant that the Ministry felt as if she should be at work about twice the time of a regular worker. When she walked through the door of her flat, she slipped off her heels as quickly as she could. She sat on her couch, leaned back and rubbed her tired feet with the promise to go and buy herself flat shoes for work. Who did she really have to impress? Half the time she worked by herself.

Just as she was working up the energy to go make herself something for dinner, however, her doorbell rang. In the few months that she had lived there, her doorbell had yet to ring a single time. In fact, the noise of it had initially frightened her. Regardless, she went over to the door and answered it: to see Draco Malfoy standing there, dripping wet. By the look on his face, he was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.


	4. Unexpected Guest

Astoria merely stood in the doorway, staring at her unexpected guest. In his defense, Draco looked terrible and didn't seem to realize that it was her flat. Regardless, she crossed her arms over her chest in a bemused fashion. Their last encounter hadn't been the greatest... no, it was worse than that. He had been downright rude. She honestly didn't feel like she owed politeness to him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. She looked over her shoulder at her bed. She just wanted to go there so badly. The moment she rid herself of the pest, she knew that was exactly where she was going to go. She didn't even know if she would bother putting pajamas on.

"I didn't know you lived here," Draco replied. His tone was lower than last time she had spoken to him. He sounded absolutely miserable, and Astoria couldn't help but get some pleasure out of it. Draco continued by pushing some of his dripping wet white blonde hair out of his eyes. "I just knocked on doors until someone answered. Well, and avoided certain doors..." he paused. "Some dimwit flooded their flat and it leaked into mine while I was sleeping. When I say flooded their flat, I'm fairly certain his girlfriend broke up with him and thought it would be a good idea to treat his flat as an aquarium considering the amount of water that had collapsed down on me, as well as fish."

"I thought I noticed a smell. Didn't know if it was out of the ordinary, though," she replied with a snarky tone. She had such a long day, and the last thing was a sob story from one of the top 3 people who had angered her in the past month.

Draco crinkled his nose, and Astoria was rather surprised that he didn't retort. She had a handful of good responses just off of the top of her head to what she had said. He must need something.

"Look, I need somewhere to crash tonight," he finally admitted after a few long, awkward seconds. Astoria's skeptical raised eyebrow did not go unnoticed by him. "What?"

"Last I recall, you repeatedly told me about some girlfriend. Can't you stay with her? What about your parents? Any friends?" she asked.

Draco's cheeks flushed. "Pansy is visiting Switzerland with her family. If I go home, my parents will try to get me to move home."

"It's really not my problem," Astoria insisted. She stood there and said nothing. She figured she was doing him a courtesy by not shutting the door on his face. She kind of expected him to move, but when she didn't, she sighed. "You don't have enough money for a hotel?"

"You think any _decent_ hotel will let me in looking like this?" he responded. The emphasis on 'decent' made Astoria smirk. Something she understood. Regardless, she was famous in her family for holding a good grudge. She looked at the clock to see that it was past the middle of the night. She sighed, and knew she was going to regret her next decision. She moved out of the way and said, "Fine. You're sleeping on the couch, though. Don't leave wet marks all over the floor, will you?"

Although his facial expression drastically changed at her words, he did not thank her. Astoria wasn't expecting any such generosity, even if she had just opened her home to him.

"You opted for the bachelor unit?" he sneered, looking around.

"What, you chose the four bedroom for yourself? Switch up the bedroom every now and then to feel like you're staying at an imaginary friend's house?" Astoria retorted. She swore to herself in that moment that she really wasn't a mean person. She wasn't about to be friendly to someone who couldn't return the favour, possibly even if he had a wand pressed into his throat.

"At least I could afford such luxuries," he replied, clearly unfazed by her tone. "Bathroom in the same spot in the poorer units?"

Astoria growled, but clenched her teeth. She had enough bickering for one night. She merely nodded.

"Be quiet, I'm going to bed. I expect you to be out first thing in the morning," she said, angrily. She waited until he passed her, and then wandered over to her elevated area that held her bed. She stripped down out of her clothes. Her desire to sleep naked was obviously ruined by her unexpected guest, so she went into her dresser and pulled out a baggy sweater and a pair of flannel pajama bottoms. Astoria climbed under the blankets and closed her eyes. She practically sank into her bed, and she felt so comfortable, but she couldn't sleep. She had a stranger in her home, and it bothered her. She could hardly even sleep when someone she knew was in the room, never mind someone she had only formally met once.

When Astoria heard the bathroom door open, she clenched her eyes shut in an effort to seem like she was sleeping. To his credit, he was being rather quiet. She could hear him putting a lot of effort into closing the door as softly as possible. She heard the quiet patter of bare feet against her hardwood floors, and then nothing. She could feel her heart pounding. The more the minutes stretched out, the more she realized that she had been completely foolish. She didn't know anything about Draco Malfoy. She had seen him grow up due to being older than her, and he had made a rather big name for himself by being Harry Potter's least favourite person. Not to mention the unpleasant taste in people's mouths when speaking the Malfoy name due to what his father had done. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she grabbed her wand from her bedside table and placed it under her pillow. She knew that it was pointless because if he wanted to attack her while she was passed out sleeping, she would hardly have time to grab her wand and think of a counter-curse in time. The wand being there comforted her, though, and after a while she was actually able to fall asleep.

Astoria woke to the smell of coffee. She sat straight up in bed, not knowing why she could smell coffee. She had initially thought that perhaps _she_ had spent the night at someone else's house. She stretched, and then she remembered. She looked over and saw Draco Malfoy sitting at her dining room table. She instantly grabbed her sheets to cover herself, even though she wasn't wearing anything provocative. Without saying a word, she tore herself out of bed and ran to the bathroom. She didn't let anyone see her first thing in the morning. It was one of the reasons why she had asked him to be out before she woke up in the morning.

She took the longest shower she could manage without turning into a prune with the hopes that by the time she exited her bathroom that he would be gone. She dressed herself for work, and left her dark hair wet and around her shoulders. She closed her eyes as she opened the door and hoped he would be gone. Instead, he still just sat there. The first thing she noticed (after him still being there) was the fact that he had poured her a cup of coffee as well.

"I thought I asked you to be gone before I woke up?" she said, although her tone clearly indicated it was much too early to argue.

"Just drink it," he insisted.

"I'll take that as a thank-you for allowing you to stay overnight, although I'm not sure how I feel about being offered my own coffee," she stated, simply. She resigned to the seat next to him and sipped out of her coffee. She didn't have the heart to tell him that it tasted rubbish. She wasn't sure what he had added to it, but it didn't have nearly as much sugar or milk that she would prefer.

Luckily, Draco had the decency to leave both on the table so it was within reach for her. As she fixed her beverage, she thought it only polite to make small talk.

"So how is your girlfriend going to feel about you staying the night at another girl's flat?" Astoria mused. When she looked up from fixing her drink, she saw that Draco didn't really think it was funny.

An awkward moment passed before Draco put his mug on the table.

"She trusts me," he replied, simply. "Do you work at the Ministry?"

"I do," she said. Although he didn't really seem overly invested in the conversation, he was doing a better job at it than he had done last time they had spoken, and for that she was grateful. "You must, as well. Most people who live here work at the Ministry."

"I actually work at St. Mungo's," he answered her implied question. "A healer."

Astoria couldn't help but think that the award for the most unexpected career path for anyone she knew definitely went to Draco. She could feel her eyes go wide in surprise, and she tried to hide it by taking a sip out of her now-empty mug.

"Well, here I thought you'd be doing something Ministry related."

"After what's happened in the past, I don't think that the new Ministry would particularly care for a Malfoy, would they?" he replied. He looked down at his watch. "Speaking of which, if I don't leave now I'll be late for work."

He stood up and went to leave. Astoria collected their mugs and went to go put them in her kitchen. When she didn't hear the door close, she looked up to see Draco still standing there. That surprised her, as well. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead he nodded curtly and left. And here she was expecting a 'thank you.' She supposed the morning politeness was his version of apologizing, and she realized that she was fine with that.


	5. Pansy Parkinson

"Still no symptoms of any werewolf-like tendencies?" Draco asked as he examined Bill Weasley's old wounds. Bill had become a regular patient of his, by some sort of luck. Luckily, Bill seemed to be more forgiving of Draco's past than many of the other Weasleys evidently were. Obviously, Draco hadn't been pleased when he first joined with St. Mungo's and Bill had been his starter patient (due to the low-severity and low-risk for worsening symptoms), but Bill had insisted. Later conversations revealed that Bill wanted everyone in the wizarding community to try to work together, despite past conflicts. While Draco thought that the sentiment was... _touching_, he still would have preferred to not see a mostly-naked Bill Weasley once every few months. It was getting rather boring, anyways, as Bill had been coming for years, and still there had been few changes. He still had a thing for rather raw meat, and his personality sort of shifted a bit during the full moon, but hardly anything to worry about.

Bill shook his head, "None that I've noticed."

Draco put the clipboard at his side. "None that _you've_ noticed?"

"No," Bill repeated. "I mean... Fleur says that I've been more active in my sleep but..."

"What kind of active?" Draco asked, for once hoping that something interesting was happening with his appointment with Bill.

Bill fiddled with his ponytail for a moment. "She says I've been walking in my sleep a bit. Sometimes she'll wake up to find me in the kitchen eating from the fridge, sometimes she says I'll just be standing in the backyard. I don't remember any of it, though. Just a bout of sleep walking, though, nothing to be worried about. If I haven't become all furry on a full moon by now, I think this is just coincidental..."

The way Bill was rambling, Draco knew that his wife no doubt had forced him to bring up the sleepwalking during their visit. Although he didn't want to spend any more time with the Weasley than he already was, he had to agree with Fleur - it was probably something to look into.

"It could be coincidental, it might not," Draco said. Although he was keeping a professional demeanour, it wasn't always so easy for him to do so. Sometimes he dealt with patients who were completely off their rocker, and it drove Draco nuts. He knew that being a Healer probably wasn't the best career path he could have chosen, but he just wanted to. He almost felt as if he had something to prove. "The fact that you don't remember any of this..."

"Means that it's sleepwalking. Just because I don't remember doesn't mean I'm turning all werewolf-y. If it did, wouldn't it only occur during a full moon?" Bill demanded, his voice getting a little heated.

"Do your cravings for raw meat only occur during a full moon?" Draco retorted, a little impatiently. Bill didn't reply, so Draco assumed it was permission to continue. "It _is_ possible this could have something to do with the attack. I think our best course of action is to do a sleep trial and have you stay until one of your sleepwalking episodes and then we can better monitor what the reasons could be."

Good, professional. Perhaps Draco was getting better at it than he thought. He always assumed that his name and his attitude were the two reasons why he wasn't further at St. Mungo's than he was. His name he couldn't change, but his attitude? Well, that he could adjust... at least, while at work. Draco was good at the diagnosis and healing of patients, not so much the social side. Most of the time he wished he could just hire someone for that aspect.

"This is ridiculous. It's been a good few years since my accident. I'm not getting werewolf tendencies now," Bill continued, stubbornly.

"And you're probably right," Draco replied, almost through clenched teeth. What was so difficult about him just agreeing to the sleep trial and seeing the results after? If he was so convinced it was nothing, then he shouldn't have to worry about doing it. "The sleep trial will tell us that. So do you want to or not?"

Bill's blue eyes stared at Draco for several moments, almost as if he was trying to stare him down. Draco tried not to make the connection with dogs trying to keep eye contact to assert dominance. It certainly wouldn't help Bill's situation. Finally, Bill gave in and agreed. Draco set up an appointment for a private sleep trial, and Draco watched Bill, a pregnant-looking Fleur, and a little blonde girl. Draco tried to keep his thoughts distant. As much as he wasn't exactly fond of the Weasley family, and certainly hoped that the diagnosis wouldn't be bad.

By the time Draco's shift was over, he was exhausted. He didn't get emergency patients yet, so he had to stick with dealing with non-emergencies and upkeep of other patients, as long as they weren't dire. He was sick of being treated like he didn't know what he was doing. It wasn't just that people were treating him like he didn't know what he was doing, but also because no one seemed to want to see him get any better. He was glad to rid himself of his coat and change into normal clothing. He knew his flat would be cleared back up again, for which he was grateful. He knew he probably would be looking for a new place if he were a Muggle. He still didn't understand how they got along without magic. How were there even people without magic? It seemed like an evolutionary advantage to have magic. Were Muggles just not as evolved?

He mused himself with the thought as he Apparated into the street. He then entered the invisible hallway through the Muggle shop to read his apartment building. He used the lift to get to his floor. He had appreciated the fact that Astoria had allowed him to stay the night the night before, although he knew he hadn't expressed himself properly. He had went to thank her, but the words just hadn't come out. It was the first neighbour of his that actually did something useful for him, other than knocking on his door to ask if he wanted to get a beer at a Muggle pub and prod fun at them. He hadn't known the majority of his building had been a bunch of halfwits. He had merely been looking for a place close to work, and since Pansy lived in the building, she had told him there had been an opening so he had went for it.

Granted, a three bedroom was too big for him and him alone. He hadn't wanted anything too big. He knew he could have stayed with his parents, but figured that it was time to cut the umbilical cord. He stayed close with them, but kept a reasonable distance all the same. Part of him hadn't forgiven them for what they had put him through. It was immature, but it was still there. He loved them for protecting him in the end, but it hadn't changed the fact that they had offered him up for a clearly impossible task. He was so split on the issue that it hurt, and he tried to not think about it.

Draco took out his wand and waved it over his door, releasing all the locks in place. He opened the door, and the moment he did, a body pressed into his as arms wrapped around his neck. Instinctively, he thought it was Astoria. The moment he thought such a thing, he shook his head... where did that thought come from? He had spoken to her twice. Granted, the one time he spent the night at her place, but that's because he had no other choice. The only reason he thought it was her was because she had been the only dark-haired female had had spoken to for the past few days. Nothing more.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, lightly detaching himself from Pansy's grip. "I thought you were still gone with your parents for another week?"

"I came back to surprise you!" Pansy exclaimed, happily. Her black hair was up in a high, sporty ponytail, although she looked tired. He looked at the clock. She no doubt was expecting him back hours ago, but she knew as well as he did that his work schedule was sporadic, and most of the time, he couldn't even predict when he would be working. Luckily, she was actually quite reasonable about it. "Well, I actually came back last night, but when I showed up here, the place was flooded out. Where did you stay?"

"With a neighbour," Draco answered. "Would you like something to drink?"

He sauntered over to the kitchen sleepily. Without even thinking, he managed to grab a few cups out of the cupboard and began to brew them tea.

"You know any of the neighbours?" she asked.

"No, I knocked until someone would let me crash on their house," he explained as he waited for the water to boil.

"So who did? Mr. Matherson no doubt, the man absolutely _adores_ you," she continued. Draco had to admit, she was extremely perky after her trip. Usually she was just as mellow as he was. He supposed the trip did her well, although her rambling was giving him a little bit of a headache. He supposed this vacation-high would disappear in a few days.

"I guess Daphne's little sister lives here. She let me stay on her couch," he said, calmly. The water boiled, so he filled the mugs with it. Silence followed his statement, but he didn't look up. Instead, he focused on stirring everything together, pressing the tea bags against the sides of the cups to get as much flavour out of them as possible, and then throwing the used bags into the trash. When he gave Pansy her drink, he could practically see the internal battle going on. She was jealous. Great. "How was your vacation?"

Draco knew Pansy wasn't going to initiate an argument about him staying at Astoria's. If there was anything he had learned about Pansy in the almost decade of knowing her was that she would do anything to please him. In some cases, he was grateful. In others, it was annoying. Sometimes, showing a little jealousy was acceptable. In this case, it would have been perfectly acceptable. Astoria was good looking. He had never talked about her before. He had stayed at her place when Pansy was out of country. All the reasons why someone should be jealous were there, but Pansy didn't take it. She instead focused her attention on telling Draco all about her vacation. Draco replied to her stories animatedly, but one part of him had hoped that perhaps she would have shown something. Something that showed that she would be worried about losing him. Draco cared for Pansy, that was true. Hell, he had even grown to love her. Sometimes, though, it felt like something was missing.

He drank tea with her and stayed up a good part of the night welcoming her home. As they laid naked under silk sheets on their bed with her head on his chest, he stroked her hair out of her face while she slept. What difference did it make that all the pieces with them didn't fit together perfectly? What relationship did? Draco couldn't help but wonder why he cared if she got jealous or not. How many guys wouldn't kill to have a girl who never got jealous? Besides, she _did_, but she didn't vocalize it. Did that not make it better? Pansy had stuck with him through it all, and that was more than Draco could say about almost anyone else outside of family.


	6. Draco's Prophecy

Unspeakables. They were _Unspeakables. _This didn't stop Astoria's co-worker, Simon, from looking extra-talkative when Astoria showed up to work one Monday morning in mid-October. She had barely entered the staffroom when Simon quickly closed the door behind her. He was foreign, he moved to Britain from America years back. He said he liked the system better in Britain. Astoria hated his accent, and didn't really understand how the Ministry would allow a foreigner to be so high up in the Ministry. What if he were to be a traitor? Send America the Ministry's secrets? She supposed the Ministry didn't think that way. She knew if she were to voice any such opinions, the foreign relations people would no doubt chastise her.

To be honest, Astoria's biggest issue with Simon was his chattiness. He was a very upbeat individual and never seemed to get the hint when someone didn't want to speak with him. She had a feeling somewhere inside he knew when someone didn't like him, but he didn't care. He wasn't particularly bad on the eyes, with his chiselled, typical American jaw and his boyish, messy brown hair, but his personality… it certainly left something to be desired. His arrogance astounded Astoria sometimes, but everyone seemed to love him. Admittedly, some days she didn't mind him, but she would never let him know that. _Especially_ because everyone else loved him.

"What is it, Simon?" she asked with an exasperated tone. She hung her autumn jacket onto the hanger and looked down at her newly purchased flat shoes. Definitely more sensible, she thought to herself.

He bit his lip excitedly, and Astoria swore he was almost shaking. "We have a new prophecy!"

"Fascinating, Simon, it happens every day. It just means more paperwork," she responded, dully.

"No, no, this one's _good,_" he insisted.

"You think they're all good."

"This one's about that Malfoy guy, though," Simon said, obviously disappointed that he couldn't drag out the suspense further.

Astoria tried not to care. In fact, she hadn't even seen him since he had spent the night at her flat. She sat down at the table and resigned herself to the fact that she might be just a little bit interested. It was always interesting to get a prophecy about someone you knew, even if it were boring – which, most of the time, it was. It was one of the secrets of the trade that most of the prophecies that came in were in fact really, really vanilla. Astoria had three about different people having a slight stumble while walking down the street, one about some bloke getting a persistent nosebleed, and two about pregnancies. The Hall of Prophecies was absolutely filled with prophecies, and an interesting one only really came once a blue moon. The problem with those ones was that it was against policy to actually tell the person about the prophecy. It was the Ministry's duty to try to sort it out, if they could. Sometimes, though, they couldn't really figure them out. Some Seers were rather cryptic.

"Did you do the paperwork already?" she asked. She knew she wouldn't be allowed to hear it herself. Regulations stated only one Unspeakable may listen to a Prophecy, unless for some reason it needed to be translated or it was a public issue.

"Of course!" he exclaimed. He picked up a file that he had left on the window sill. She raised her eyebrows at his placement, and the fact that he left it lying around, but didn't say a word. She just took the folder and opened it.

A moving photograph of Draco Malfoy greeted her. She sometimes wondered where the Ministry acquired photos of all the people who had prophecies about them, but for Draco there wasn't a surprise. Despite the fact that the problems with his family mostly had stemmed from his father, Draco himself had been under a watch up until a few months back. The Ministry claimed they had wanted to be cautious. Astoria tried to not acknowledge the coincidence that Potter and Weasley had entered the Department when the watch had been started on Draco.

Astoria skipped past the usual yet petty details. She wanted to know the premise of the prophecy.

"_Prophecy states that the youngest Malfoy will meet an unduly end by next year's end, most likely by someone the subject is aware of._"

She re-read the description.

"Simon, I've written longer descriptions of prophecies that were about someone having their ham over-cooked on Christmas," Astoria said.

"It didn't state much, honestly. It went along the lines of, 'The youngest of Malfoy blood will come to an unduly end by those most unexpected.' I mean, if it weren't for the fact that it was someone that we know about, I would have thought it was the lamest prophecy ever," he responded, casually, as if he weren't discussing the potential demise of someone he knew.

"Who gave the Prophecy?" she asked, although she looked it up in the file before Simon could give her a chance. "Clara Grayson? Who is she, now? I've never heard the name."

"She's young. School-aged, I believe," Simon answered. "Her first prophecy that the family is aware of."

"Where's the orb?"

"Already put in the Hall."

Astoria stood up. "I'll file this for you."

Instead of going where she was supposed to file the document, she instead went into the Hall of Prophecies, her head buzzing. She moved along the shelves until she reached where she knew his name would be. It hadn't taken Astoria long to become familiar with how to get around easily. She found it within moments. The prophecy wouldn't speak again until the person who it was about touched it, this she was aware of. Simon would have only heard it because he would have been in this Clara person's presence recording it when it happened. A lot of Seers either had the ability of being able to predict when a prophecy was going to happen or knew how to save it for the Ministry to collect later. The Ministry had to be able to listen to it before they would classify it as real. They didn't have time for fake prophecies made up to scare someone.

Well, really, it didn't matter because the Ministry refused to tell the subject that they had a prophecy about them. They didn't want people panicking. They used to, apparently. However, people ended up killing themselves over a prophecy that wasn't guaranteed to happen. Some prophecies just never came true, or they weren't as dire as they were interpreted. The Ministry apparently had told one woman she was going to die by her husband's hand only for her to kill her husband. At the time, she had said he had come after her and she killed him in self-defense. She remarried only for her second husband to murder her. They had discovered a journal which had her admitting to killing her first husband out of fear of her life because of the prophecy – the prophecy had come true just from her knowing about it. After that tragic incident, they decided it was best not to let people know, especially when it regarded their deaths. Sometimes if the prophecies were rather direct, the Ministry would do their best to try to push the person in the right direction. A prophecy once told of a man getting colon cancer, so the Ministry had sent a leaflet in his regular mail reminding men of the check-up. It had saved his life, and he didn't need to know about it.

Astoria stared at the plaque with Draco and the Seer's name already engraved on it, and watched the smoke swirl in its orb. His prophecy was so… vague. Astoria honestly didn't know much about Seeing, and therefore didn't know if vague prophecies were the result of an inexperienced Seer, or if the age of the Seer was irrelevant. She read over the description over and over. There was nothing there that she could even imply to Draco without giving away that she read a prophecy about him. She supposed the best thing she could do – and she hated herself for thinking it – was hope that another, more descriptive prophecy came in.


	7. First Snow

It was weeks before Astoria would see Draco again. She was honestly nervous about seeing him, and despite the fact that she had only seen him in her building the one time he knocked on her door, she seemed to think she'd run into him every time she was in the corridors. There was still just over a year before the prophecy was supposed to come true, but Astoria had yet to come across a terrible prophecy about someone she knew and she didn't know she would react. Astoria wasn't exactly a good liar: it was one of the reasons people occasionally described her as 'mean.' She knew she was rubbish at lying, so she never usually bothered doing so. She usually just said what was on her mind. Then again, 'by the way, I'm an Unspeakable at the Ministry of Magic and I was told of a prophecy that foretold your death,' wasn't something that really slipped off the tongue. Besides, she knew she would probably be worse than fired if she did such a thing.

November brought a rather early snow. Some of the leaves were still on the trees when the flakes came falling from the grey sky. Astoria was bundled in her jacket and scarf. Unlike most people she knew, she actually didn't mind winter. She liked the fashion. Besides, who liked to sweat, really? Unfortunately, she was so pre-occupied with looking at her surroundings that she failed to notice the blonde man approach her until he was only a few feet away. When Astoria did notice, she jumped, almost as if her mind was playing tricks on her. The Ministry didn't receive any further prophecies regarding Draco, so she still only had the small amount of information to work on.

"Hullo," she said in a distracted voice. She didn't slow down, however. She kept walking, her heels making little pin-prick marks in the soft layer of snow that was beginning to blanket the ground. The snow would no doubt melt by the next day.

"Where are you headed?" he asked as he joined her without asking.

"Just to the park," she answered. She didn't want to keep walking with him, and in fact couldn't bring herself to look at him. As horrible as it sounded, she didn't want to maintain any sort of friendship with him – she knew doing so would only be complicated. She didn't want complicated. She wanted boring.

"The park?" he repeated. Even without looking at him, Astoria knew he raised his eyebrows.

"Is there any particular reason you're so interested?" she demanded, harsher than she intended. She stopped walking and turned to him, finally facing him. She looked into his face irritably.

"Well since I ran into you, I was going to ask if you wanted to go for a drink," he stated, almost as if they had any sort of conversation before that wasn't forced or uncomfortable.

"Why would I do that?"

"Make up for letting me stay at your place, of course."

Draco didn't know why he was asking her for a drink. He knew Pansy was waiting for him to come home. From the time, she was probably keeping something warm in the oven. She didn't know when he got off work, though, considering how frequently it changed. He had noticed Astoria from a distance and he had just gone to her.

Astoria opened her mouth, and for a moment he thought she was going to accept. Instead, she closed it again and then shook her head as she stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets.

"Sorry, I'm really busy," she murmured. She turned to walk away, but then looked back at him and added, "Maybe some other time."

The tone of her voice didn't sound promising.

"Don't say I never offered," he replied, although in more of a way like he would never offer again.

She half-smiled at him and then continued on her way. The snow was just beginning to end as she rounded the bend, leaving Draco standing there not sure of why he was still looking in her direction. He shook his head and continued the short journey home. Sure enough, when he walked through the door of his flat, the first thing that greeted him was the smell of food. It was always nice to come home to food. He could, of course, afford to eat out every night, but why bother when his girlfriend would do it? Besides, she knew his favourite foods, and didn't have to deal with waiters.

"Hungry?" Pansy asked. Before he even answered, she flicked her wand and the food came out of the oven and onto the stove.

By the time Draco took his coat off and sat at the table, Pansy placed a plate of food in front of him and sat across from him and smiled adoringly. He dug into the food and ate in almost silence. When he was close to done was when Pansy finally spoke.

"I ran into that Greengrass girl today," she said casually.

"Yeah?" he replied in a disinterested tone.

"She seemed to know who I was."

"You were in school together, Pansy. We were in classes with her sister," Draco explained. He watched Pansy's moves carefully as she took his plate away and into the kitchen. "Besides, she lives nearby. She's probably seen you loads of times."

"This is the first time she ever said 'hi' to me though," Pansy continued. Her voice almost sounded like she was pleading for him to agree with her on something, and he wasn't sure what. Instead of taking a risk on saying something, he merely shrugged.

"Did you say something about me?" she asked.

Draco could hardly believe it – Pansy actually seemed jealous for once. The reason why was beyond him. He shook his head, wanting to get off the subject. Talking about Astoria to Pansy seemed… strange. Astoria was such a minor thing in his life.

"Why are we having this conversation?" he challenged.

Yet again, Pansy had another internal struggle that Draco could almost see. Eventually, she just exhaled.

"Oh, it's nothing."

"When do you head back to work?" he asked.

It was apparently not the question to ask, considering Pansy's face dropped. She wasn't usually like this, and it bothered Draco. Draco had mentioned many more women before, and more frequently. Despite the fact that Draco obviously had to adhere to strict confidentiality rules at work, he sometimes talked of nameless women patients of his to Pansy, and she usually took no notice. Jealousy didn't suit her, and Draco wasn't used to it whatsoever.


	8. Impressive

"I'm glad you changed your mind about that drink," Draco admitted as he looked at Astoria over his glass. He put it on the table with a light clink. Apparating was a wonderful thing as it meant that he and Astoria were able to get a drink in a town over with no problems. The bar they were in was relaxed and high class. It was quiet and dimly lit. Draco knew that if Pansy knew, she would be livid. After all, this was the bar where Draco first suggested that she be his girlfriend. He wished she wouldn't be so jealous, even if she wasn't verbal about it.

"What can I say?" Astoria replied simply. She traced the rim of her martini glass slowly. "You're rather persistent."

Draco didn't respond right away. In all honesty, he wasn't quite sure what to say. She looked, simply put, wonderful, but there was no way he could tell her. Her dark hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders. She opted for a silk black blouse and a high waisted skirt with heels that were a little too high to be casual. Her legs were crossed in the leather chair across from him, which made the skirt seem shorter than it really was. Draco tried not to notice.

"So you say you're a healer," Astoria said casually, breaking the silence.

"Yes, I am," he replied. "Long hours, long days."

"Yet you still had time for me," she mused. She took a sip of her drink, and then her green eyes met his grey ones for a moment that was a little too long. "What do you do there?"

"I'm a glorified janitor," Draco answered darkly, although it was a joke.

Astoria snorted. "I doubt a _Malfoy _would ever sink to any sort of custodial work. You must be doing something more… _impressive."_

Draco was surprised that Astoria seemed so interested in his work, and even more so that she believed him to be doing great things. He felt like he _should_ be doing great things, and not babysitting maybe-he-is, maybe-he-isn't-a-werewolf Bill Weasley. He knew he couldn't speak of Bill directly with her due to confidentiality.

"I'm more of an investigative healer," he replied. He knew he was exaggerating, but a little exaggerating didn't hurt anyone, did it? Really, he was investigating something uncommon: the continued wolf-like behaviours of someone who was attacked by a werewolf outside of a full moon. The only other case was Lavender Brown, but she didn't allow Draco to see her.

The night continued on and Draco found himself gradually glancing at the expensive watch on his wrist less and less frequently as he continued to order himself drinks. The last he remembered checking his watch it was almost two in the morning and the bar mostly empty. The bar was mostly for the type who stopped in for a drink after work, not to get drunk. It appeared too late for Draco and Astoria. Astoria lost her elegant pose and eventually changed seats so that she was at Draco's side, and not across from him. She ran her fingers down the sleeve of his shirt, causing goosebumps to rise on his arm where her touch had been. He could feel her breath on his face as she spoke to him, her words gradually making less and less.

"So, Mr. Malfoy," she whispered in his ear. "What are you doing out with me, pissed, at two in the morning instead of in bed with your long term girlfriend?"

He turned to retort. He tried to keep the premise that he didn't like when Pansy was spoken about, but a part of him deep inside was actually excited about the idea. The idea that there was a good-looking girl at home eagerly awaiting him and an even more attractive woman nearly in his lap at the bar. Draco hated his mind for it… he wasn't that type of person. But when he went to tell Astoria off, she was a little too close and she smelled _so_ _good_, and he couldn't help it…

He reached forward, placed his hand on Astoria's neck and pulled her in for a deep kiss. Her lips were soft, but her mouth was a little dry from all the drinking. Regardless, she responded with enthusiasm. So much so that Draco was embarrassed about being in a public place, no matter how drunk he was. When they broke apart, Astoria wasted no time grabbing Draco by the end and out of the bar. They Apparated in front of where their building was. Astoria slipped out of her heels before they entered.

"What if Pansy sees me?" Draco asked.

"What if she does?" Astoria responded.

They made their way through the corridors stealthily, every now and then stealing kisses from one another. By the time they reached Astoria's door, Draco pushed her up against it and put his hands in her hair and kissed her neck. Astoria moaned and pulled him closer to her. He found her mouth again, and they remained in their embrace for several moments before Astoria managed to break away from him and unlock the door to her flat. Draco wasted no time closing the door and relocking it before rushing back to Astoria and began to unbutton her shirt at a rate that made it seem like they were on some sort of timer. She didn't resist, and rather responded. As they kissed deeply, they walked backwards, tearing off each other's clothes as they approached her bed. She was left in just skimpy lingerie by the time they reached it. Draco raised an eyebrow at her attire.

"Someone was prepared," Draco said.

"I always am," she replied sexily. She reached forward for his hand and pulled her to him, causing them to collapse onto her bed…

Suddenly, a beeping sound caused Draco to sit straight up in bed. He was noticeably excited, but soon became aware of the fact that he was in his own bed in his own flat and the brunette next to him wasn't Astoria, but rather Pansy. He couldn't believe it… it had all been a dream. How could it have been? He had never seen Astoria in such a state of undress and it all seemed so real and…

"Dammit!" Draco cursed to himself as he got out of bed. He knew he was in trouble.


	9. George Weasley

Draco's dream of Astoria stuck with him too deeply. He had been unable to look Pansy in the eye the next morning. He felt guilty as if he had actually done something wrong. He couldn't control what he dreamt about, but worst of all, he actually _liked_ what he had dreamt about. He hadn't been with anyone but Pansy, so his dream excited him in a way that he couldn't explain. The idea of someone new… well, that couldn't be completely it, could it? He never took issue before with only being with one woman. A part of him found it a little honourable, not that he would admit that to anyone. It was old-fashioned, but Draco was hardly liberal in his beliefs.

The sleep trial that Draco had scheduled for Bill Weasley came before he knew it. Draco was going to be the one who monitored the sleep trial. He was grateful for the opportunity to spend the night alone without either woman who plagued his thoughts. Bill Weasley wasn't his first choice for companionship, but Draco didn't have any friends. He separated himself from his Hogwarts friends other than Pansy, and it wasn't like it was easy for him to do so. Even if he _wanted_ to get some new mates, the name Malfoy had a stigma to it that was extremely difficult to overcome. Besides, Bill would be sleeping. All Draco really had to do was watch.

As dusk approached, Draco found himself sitting at his desk in his office. He had to share a desk with another Healer, but most Healers didn't make a habit of hanging out in their office on a regular basis. Draco went over the paperwork in a meticulous fashion that wasn't of his usual style. He rested his head in his hand. He tried to ignore the full moon that was rising. It was a mere coincidence that Bill's sleep trial was during the full moon, but Draco knew it was probably for the best. It was the ideal scenario, although Draco knew that it was going to be a long night. A knock came at his office door, and instead of one redhead, there were two. George Weasley apparently thought it was up to him to accompany his elder brother.

Draco stood up and adjusted his coat in what he believed to be a professional manner, which George and Bill simply found pretentious. Draco wasn't much of a people person, especially with a family that he made fun of for years. He still believed that they were scum, but now he had a _reason_ to not be rude to them.

"Come to drop off your brother?" Draco asked, although he knew the answer to the question before he even asked it.

"No, I came to watch," George responded casually. "Figured that way you couldn't make anything up."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "And why would I do such a thing? Pleasure from seeing your lot in my office?"

"Ah, ah, that's not very professional, is it?" George taunted with a wide grin on his face.

Draco wanted to sneer back, but knew better. He replied with a horrible smile that seemed painful, which he quickly withdrew.

"Very well," he opted for. "Follow me."

Without waiting to see if they were going to follow, Draco stepped around them and began to walk down the corridor at a pace that was much quicker than with patients that he didn't used to mock. They were on even grounds now, and it was a thought that bothered Draco. He always expected the Weasley clan to follow in their parents' footsteps. Now they were all relatively successful, and it was irritating. He kept walking until they were at the wing with a bunch of rooms. They didn't have a lot of sleep trials booked, so they managed to find a room with no problem.

"Just go lay on that bed," Draco directed as he pointed to a bed in a dark room.

"Nothing more? Just sleep?" Bill asked.

"I could get someone to fluff your pillow if you'd like?" Draco replied, sarcastically. He was actually usually more pleasant to Bill, but for some reason, the presence of George was annoying.

"No, this is good," Bill said as he made eye contact with his brother and they both grinned.

"Now during the night I'll be sitting in that room there," Draco explained. He preferred this part: merely explaining what was going on. It didn't involve asking how the person was feeling and the like. "If you begin to walk or act funny during the night, I'll be able to record it and we can work from there."

"Sure thing," Bill replied with a small salute. He grabbed the pyjamas that were on the bed and headed to the bathroom to change.

Draco took the opportunity to go behind the wall that separated Bill from the observation room. He took a seat, only to be disgruntled by George following him.

"This is for medical personnel only," Draco stated, irritably.

"Well, I have nothing to do for the rest of the night, and I really have no other area to observe," George replied as he fixed himself a seat by grabbing what seemed like an abandoned chair from the corner.

Draco scowled but said nothing further. He knew technically other people were allowed to be there for the sleep trials. Usually, though, they fell asleep. He could only hope that it would happen to George, but seeing as how George was already working on unwrapping a load of candy, Draco didn't see it as being much of a possibility.

Instead, Draco focused his attention through the glass. The glass was one-way as to not make the participant feel uncomfortable. Draco wasn't sure which was worse, in his opinion. You could have normal glass and be able to see what your observers were doing, or you could have absolutely no idea. Both of those situations didn't appeal to him.

Bill put his previously worn clothes in a neat pile on the chair in the room. He then waved at the one-way mirror and then slipped into bed. He appeared to have no issue with sleeping in front of other people. Draco couldn't help but snidely think that he probably had to get used it sleeping in the same room with half of his family growing up. He grinned to himself as he made a few notes on his clipboard.

After about an hour was when the first time George spoke.

"So, why are you a healer? I always imagined you would turn out to be a professional momma's boy."

Draco bit his tongue. He knew nothing nice would come out of it. George's voice had a joking tone to it, but Draco didn't see it that way.

"I'm good at what I do," Draco answered as he hoped that his voice had conviction in it. _He_ believed he was good at what he did. His position, however, said otherwise.

"Huh," George replied, his joking tone now gone. "And here I thought it might just be the immense guilt for unashamedly supporting the side that killed my brother."

A very awkward silence fell between the two. Draco didn't say anything, mainly because George was actually at least partially right. It wasn't like Draco was solely responsible for everything that happened, but his family – as he believed – was a big part of what was going on at that time. He also felt guilty for how terrible he felt during the aftermath. Most other people lost someone, like George had lost Fred, but all Draco lost was his respect and trust for his parents. He still loved them, yes, but he could never really forgive them for practically selling him out to the Dark Lord. Was his sadness any greater than people who lost close relatives?

Draco opened his mouth, but as he did he noticed that George's eyes were fixed on the window. Draco looked, as well, only to jump in his seat. There Bill stood, right at the window, with his hand pressed against it and his eyes looking forward as if he could see inside.


	10. Intense Sleep Walking

Draco jumped back in surprise. He hadn't expected Bill to be right there. His facial expression wasn't what it should have been. His usual care-free expression was replaced by one of dark humour. It was like looking into the mirror brought out some inside joke that only he could understand. By the silence coming from the normally chatty Weasley next to him, he could tell that this wasn't just some sort of prank to freak Draco out.

"W-what's going on?" George stammered. He hadn't moved from his standing position.

"I don't know," Draco admitted. He grabbed his clipboard and started taking notes furiously, mainly in an attempt to look away from Bill even for a moment.

"Why is he… smiling like that?"

"I don't know," Draco repeated, already getting annoyed with his company. Even with such strange circumstances, Draco would have preferred to be alone. Less distractions would mean that Draco could put his full mind on what was going on.

"He's looking at me," George announced as he pointed.

"Impossible, that's a two way mirror," Draco stated. He tried to not look bothered, but he was never known for being the bravest person in the world. He glanced up to see that Bill was definitely looking at George. When George moved, Bill's eyes moved.

"Well, that's unsettling," George commented. He sat down and Bill watched.

Draco scribbled down notes that were practically illegible. He wasn't really prepared for this. He had agreed with what Bill had said, and that it was most likely a case of sleep walking. This hardly seemed to be the case. He stood there for a long while and didn't move. In fact, Bill's hand didn't move a centimeter off the glass. Draco timed it. After a half an hour, Bill threw his head back and howled. It wasn't a normal howl, and it didn't exactly sound like one considering it came from a human. It was rather frightening, especially because in the next moment he began to bang his fists against the glass furiously.

Draco jumped up from his chair and took out his wand, and from the corner of his eye he saw George do the same. Bill's hands looked strange, and within a minute the glass broke. When it settled, Bill's hands looked bruised and bloody, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Bill?" George called.

Bill's head flicked to him, but he didn't move forward. He just stood there, oddly calm considering there was blood dripping off his fingers. Then, without warning, Bill slumped to the floor. Both men ran forward and put Bill on his back. He let out a tremendous snore.

Draco took out his wand and tried his best to get the shards of glass out of Bill's hands, and then waved his wand over Bill's hands to close up the wounds.

"Pretty intense sleep walking, huh?" George asked, obviously trying to diffuse the tension.

"I don't know what the hell that was, but sleepwalking wasn't it, Weasley," Draco replied. He didn't care to keep the professionalism in his tone anymore. In all honesty, the incident freaked him out. He had never seen anything like that before, nor had he read up on anything even close. Naturally, it wasn't like Draco spent his free time reading, but it was a mandatory component as part of his job.

With George's help, he and Draco got Bill back into his bed and tucked him in. Draco fixed the mirror, but knew this wouldn't be the last sleep trial they did with Bill, and next time it would no doubt have to be in a more secure room. As much as he didn't want to, he knew he was going to have to get outside help.

The next morning, all Draco wanted to do was go to bed. He knew it was going to screw up his sleep cycle, but no one said that being a Healer granted good working hours. He just wanted to fall into a deep sleep and not have to think about what he witnessed. He told Bill what had happened, and for the first time that entire night, Draco had been glad George had been there, as Bill didn't believe a word that had come from Draco's mouth until George affirmed it.

When he got home, Pansy wasn't there. She didn't technically live with him, after all. He suspected that she wanted to, considering how much time she spent there. He couldn't bring himself to do it. They were close and all, but he didn't feel like they were there yet. Besides, there was something to be said about living alone. He was just about to get undressed and head to bed when a knock came at his door. He went to open the door in a begrudged fashion. When he did, he was surprised to see Astoria there.

"Well, you look like shit," she commented lightly.

"I haven't slept," he replied. As he said that, he let out a wide yawn.

"Oh, I was going to take you up on that drink," Astoria stated.

He looked at her like she was crazy. "It's eight in the morning."

"Drink of coffee?" she suggested.

However, the conversation of drinks reminded Draco about his temporarily forgotten dream about her. All of the sudden, he needed to look away from her.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," he muttered. "You're making it."

Astoria merely walked past Draco and went into his kitchen. It didn't take her long, and Draco sat on his couch. His eyes felt extremely heavy and uncomfortable. If it were anyone but Astoria there, Draco probably would have just fallen asleep on the couch. The only thing that made him not was the worry that the mental images of Astoria in lingerie lingered in the back of his mind and the last thing he needed was that sort of dream in front of her.

Astoria wandered over with two mugs in her hand. She took a seat next to Draco on the couch as she tucked one leg underneath herself. She handed him one of the cups.

"Can you be trusted to hold that without spilling?" she teased.

Draco returned with a sarcastic smile before taking a sip. He wished that it was stronger. Really, though, nothing could be stronger.

"Where's Pansy?" Astoria wondered.

"Did you really show up thinking Pansy would be here?" Draco challenged.

Astoria shrugged. "Why would it make a difference?"

A silence fell between the two that only said one thing, which was 'yes.' Yes it would make a difference. It would make a difference because Astoria found herself thinking of Draco much more frequently than she should be, and Draco knew that he kept going out of his way to speak with this woman with whom he knew almost nothing about. But neither answered the question out loud, and they merely filled the silence with deep drinks from their mugs.

"Say, how's life?" Astoria asked with a tone that was too friendly to seem legitimate.

"Fine," Draco replied stiffly. "Why?"

"Just wondering," Astoria answered. "Have you gotten into any fights with anyone lately? Any arguments?"

"Those are rather specific questions, don't you think?" he responded.

"I guess you're right," she said. She looked down at her watch. "Oh, Merlin, is that the time? I'm late for work, I should go. Besides, you look like you desperately require a bed or will need medical attention."

Astoria put her half-empty mug on Draco's coffee table.

"Look, a bunch of us from work are getting together for a bit of a party at my place this weekend. You're more than welcome to come, if you'd like," Astoria said.

"Yeah," was all Draco could manage.

"Al-alright then."

With that, Astoria left Draco's flat. The moment she did, Draco fell into a deep sleep exactly where he sat on the couch.


End file.
